James presumably selected Golden State Warriors superstar Kevin Durant with the first overall pick in the draft, taking away the dynamic duo from his rival Stephen Curry.

He was not hesitant to pick Irving, despite their falling out, according to his interview (via TNT):

“I just tried to pick the best available players. To be able to team back up with Kyrie is always special. Along with Kevin Love, for us to have another weekend to bring back some of the memories that we had when we were all together. Kyrie was available on the draft board. He’s one of the best point guards we have in our league. It was an easy choice for me.”

Irving is the only other player in the starting lineup with James who plays in the Eastern Conference. Otherwise, the three-time NBA champion opted for players in the Western Conference — including DeMarcus Cousins, who he recently praised on Twitter.

James and Irving, however, are not the only former teammates to play on the same roster during the exhibition game. Durant will be joined by the reigning NBA MVP Russell Westbrook, who played alongside him on the Oklahoma City Thunder.

In addition to Love, his bench unit includes Bradley Beal as well as Victor Oladipo, Kristaps Porzingis, LaMarcus Aldridge and John Wall. Four of the last five winners of the All-Star Game MVP will join James on the court.

Success

Whoa!

Bryan Kalbrosky

Bryan is an NBA writer for HoopsHype and was the editor for USA TODAY SMG's Rams Wire blog. He has published with FOX Sports, Noisey, Bleacher Report, LA Weekly, Huffington Post and various other publications. bryan.kalbrosky@gmail.com.